by Stuart Woods, 2005, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
It starts out well and I thought it would be entertaining but, unfortunately, it dissolves to a rather disjointed and uninteresting conclusion. The characters are okay but the plot falls apart and it doesn’t really generate any suspense.
I believe this is the second Stuart Woods book I have read and they both were disappointing.
by Kenneth R. Miller, 1999, Harper Perennial, New York
Ken is a professor of cell biology at Brown University who is known for his defense of the science of evolution against the attempts to teach creationism and/or intelligent design in the schools’ science curriculum. He is also a practicing Roman Catholic.
In this book, he articulates both the flaws of alternate evolution theories as well as his faith in God as a scientist. Ken’s prose is vigorous and to the point.
In describing the basis of his faith he indicates that there are certain things that occur randomly and hence the outcome is unknowable and unpredictable. He cites quantum physics as the basis of this evidence. Because of the randomness of individual events, there are certain things that science can never tell us, such as the how the matter in the universe came to be. To Miller, this is a key element of his faith.
What is interesting is that, after taking apart all arguments in favor of intelligent design (a theory that states that there must be a designer who designed complex organisms – or at least directed the development of those organisms), Miller suggests that there may be an intelligent presence who created the scientific laws of the universe. This seems to me to be like some sort of intelligent design, but when questioned about it, he says he is okay with it because it can never be proven or disproven, unlike the concept of an intelligent designer who is supposedly responsible for designing the end product. In the latter case, the science of evolution again and again disproves it.
Miller also attributes some of the attacks that evolution receives from various sources on some of the scientific community itself. His religious beliefs are totally compatible with science and he feels that those who point to scientific discoveries as proof that God does not exist are actually doing harm to the study of evolution. As in the title of the book, he feels that there is much common ground between God and Evolution.
The book is extremely well written in the conversational style that Miller probably employs in his lectures. He is an extremely popular professor and his style is engaging while, at the same time, challenging. The concepts discussed are not simple, but the author makes the reading interesting and, in some cases, entertaining. 
by Timothy Egan, 2016, Kindle Edition, Mariner Books
I don’t know what to think about this book. It was somewhat interesting and had a lot of information about Thomas Meagher and his exploits, but didn’t really grab my attention as it should have. The book was well researched but seemed to just get into it and then bounced to another subject or venue. I thought it was pretty well written and covered the life of a fascinating individual who initiated a uprising in Ireland in 1948, was sent to a penal colony in Tasmania, fought in the U.S. Civil was as a Union general, and eventually became the governor of the Montana territory, but somehow didn’t quite get there. I suspect that many others would read this book and think more highly of it and I wish I could too, but it just didn’t happen.
by Erik Larson, 2020, Crown, sold by Random House
This book basically highlights the first year of Winston Churchill’s rule as prime minister from May of 1941. Like Larson’s other books, he contrasts what is going on in one venue versus another, this time contrasting Churchill’s world in England with Hitler’s in Germany.
The book focuses on the personal lives of Churchill, his family, and his closest advisors and aides. Much of the information is derived from personal diaries and other written sources from that time. On the other hand, Larson doesn’t glean as much information from those sources in Germany and, therefore, the comparison between the two individual’s is heavily weighted toward what went on in Churchill’s world.
While the book was somewhat interesting, it didn’t really grab me. There are a lot of passages that were pretty mundane such as John Colville’s pursuit of his girlfriend who had little romantic interest in him. These were taken from previously unpublished sections of his diary and really don’t add much in my opinion.
I had previously read Citizens of London by Lynne Olson which was about Averell Harriman, Edward R. Murrow, and John Winant and their experiences in London during the war. This book also had quite a bit of information about their connections to the Churchill family, but I thought the book was much more compelling than Larson’s book.
by Edward Rutherfurd, 2009, Audiobook narrated by Mark Bramhall, Random House Audio
This book is a long one (30 CD’s of audiobook) that traces the history of New York from it’s founding until 2009 through one family and its descendants. It’ very similar to the historical novels of Ken Follett but I think Rutherfurd does a better job of developing his characters. Follett’s tend to be stereotypes, either good or bad individuals, and don’t seem to change over time. Some of Rutherfurd’s characters, although often prejudiced and flawed, seem to change over time to be better individuals as they age.
I had forgotten how many crises and riots (Civil War draft riot, 1965, 1977) that New York had endured. Since the novel ended in 2009, it had not yet experienced the corona virus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter riots and looting of 2020. Perhaps Rutherfurd will have to write another epilogue for another edition to include the latest?
While I enjoyed listening to the book, and I think that Mark Bramhall did an excellent job of narrating, I was glad when I had finished. The book at times seems never ending, although as I mentioned in the last paragraph, history just keeps rolling along.
by Adam Higginbotham, 2019, Simon & Schuster
Excellent book although somewhat difficult to digest due to all the individual characters involved and their Russian names which make it hard to follow. I was not aware of the causes of the disaster nor the extent of the response that the USSR initiated to contain the disaster.
The main thing I learned from the book is the impact that the Chernobyl disaster had in accelerating the downfall of the Soviet Union. The economy was already reeling from the mismanagement of the agricultural sector and the arms race with the U.S., but it appears that the Chernobyl disaster was the nail in the coffin due to the extraordinary expense and other resources that had to be allocated to cleaning up the disaster.
The other main aspect of the disaster was the uncovering of the flaws in the government’s peacetime nuclear power program. Rather than being the greatest scientific program ever developed as was asserted by the USSR, the design of the plant was extremely dangerous. The government was reluctant to admit to these flaws and also attempted to cover up the extent of the release of radioactivity. Once the truth began to be exposed, it further discredited the government which also contributed to the eventual collapse of the USSR.
The book certainly isn’t very enjoyable to read, but the message it provides is meaningful. 
by Claremary P. Sweeney, 2019, EBookBakery Books
This book is listed as a “South County Mystery.” The only reason I read it is that it takes place in Peace Dale, close to Narragansett where we spend our summers.
The book is chock full of references to local sites and establishments so it was a bit like coming home. Unfortunately, the mystery did not provide much suspense and the writing is a bit choppy. While I did like the characters, I sometime found that it was hard to determine who was doing the talking is some of the dialogue.
i appreciate the author’s dedication and descriptions of the local areas in South County, RI, but the story just wasn’t that great.
by Jeanine Cummins, 2020, Audiobook narraated by Yareli Arizmendi, Macmillan Audio
This book is a tough one to review because it’s not a bad book, but it’s not really a good book either. The book was a selection for Oprah’s book club and received a great deal of publicity and acclaim. Then it came under attack with scathing criticism because it was written by a white American author rather than someone who was supposedly Latina. I personally don’t feel that a book should be judged based on the ethnicity of its author but rather on the work itself.
My disappointment with the book is because I felt the story wasn’t about the what I was expecting. I was expecting a novel about some individuals migrating to the U.S. and requesting asylum. The story turns out to be about a mother and child attempting to escape the grip of the crime cartels in Mexico after they killed her journalist husband and the other members of her family. Lydia, the mother, had access to a considerable amount of money which helped her pay for her illegal passage into the U.S. She and her son made it across with some difficulty, but did not experience any of the trauma associated with the refugee and asylum process (camps, separation from children, etc).
The story itself was okay but didn’t seem to grab me much. The ending was abrupt and didn’t give a lot of satisfaction as to how it resolved.
So, while I reject the criticism that the book would only have been authentic if it had been written by a Latina author, I didn’t think reading (listening to) this book offered me much to get excited about.
by Richard M. Watt, 1968, Barnes and Noble Books.
Quite a few years ago my son showed me a box of books that he had been assigned to read when he was studying for his master’s degree in Eastern European History at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. I managed to grab a few of the books from the box and this was one of them. It sat on my shelf in the den for many years until I decided to pull it off and read it. The covid-19 quarantine added to the time I had on my hands to read it.
I had no idea what it was about. I thought it had to do with the demise of kings in many countries after WWI, but it dealt entirely with Germany. As I read the book I was amazed at how good the book is.
First of all, I had no idea of what went on in Germany during WWI, during the Armistice, and immediately after until the signing of the treaty. It turns out that few others did as well, notably, the French, British, and Americans who were tasked with the drafting of the treaty. When the book refers to “The Kings Depart” it refers to the multiple kings that were still in power in Germany prior to WWI. Germany was a collection of small kingdoms knit together by the sheer will of the Prussians. In fact, the German constitution dictated that the King of Prussia, was also the Emperor of Germany.
I also was not aware that Germany suffered a violent Bolshevik revolution right after the Armistice went into effect and many of the cities were, for a time, under the rule of Bolshevik parties. The revolution was put down by more moderate forces of the remnants of the German Army and the militias that sprung up throughout Germany.
One thing I took away from reading this book is how fragile a democracy can be in a country where the culture is not conducive to a democratic form of government.
I can’t begin to describe all the history and events that this book contains. The really outstanding feature of this book was the way in which the author brought it all together. His writing style is excellent and his conclusions and opinions as to why things happened the way they did seem very well thought out.
The book is somewhat long (530 pages) and there is a lot of detail, but, overall, an excellent work.
by Ken Follett, 2017, Audiobook narrated by John Lee, Penguin Audio
This is an addition to Follett’s other historical novels, this one related primarily to the reign of Elizabeth I in England. The characters are typical of Follett’s writing. The primary hero is an individual named Ned Willard who, although he comes from a fairly small town in England, rises to become knighted and one of Elizabeth’s trusted advisors.
The story provides a rich backdrop of history and moves along pretty well. The characters, as in Follett’s other historical novels, however, are somewhat unbelievable. They are, for the most part, either diabolically evil or good and heroic as in the case of Ned Willard. The world is a constant battle between good and evil.
Follett also provides a stark picture of the intolerance evidenced by religions in that era, be they Catholic or Protestant. The world veered from the intolerance of one religion to the other, depending on which held the most power at any given time. Follett paints a picture that is very dark when it comes to organized religion.
I had the good fortune to listen to the book while I either walked or worked on a manual project. In this way I made good use of my time and didn’t get bogged down on reading this very long novel.